You Stayed
by EvilAndRegal
Summary: Regina Mills, a Lawyer, is single and living in Florida. She just moved there with her Retriever, Lola, searching for a new start after a bad breakup. Emma Swan, a police officer, lives in Tallahassee, Florida, with her son Henry. Emma has a secret that she has not even told her son about. Will both women find what they are looking for?
1. Searching

**Chapter 1: Searching**

Wind blowing her hair out of her face, Regina Mills drove down the highway with her friend, Melanie, to a Latin restaurant called Marmalade. It was a gorgeous day; not too hot or too cold. The sunset was pretty and she was happy to able to have a girls night. It was the first one in two weeks.

"So you know we definitely have to talk, right?" Regina told her friend. Melanie had a look on her face like she was trying to figure out if her friend was going to grill her about something or just talk about their day.

"Why do I have this feeling like you're going to give me the third degree." She said with a slight laugh.

"Not necessarily the third degree, but we haven't had a girl night in forever, and I need to get my mind off of stuff." Regina gave Melanie a look.

"Giving me 20 questions will take your mind off of things."

"Maybe." Regina smirked. She turned into the parking lot of the restaurant, pulled into a space and turned off her car. Both women got out of the car and walked in.

"Hello ladies, welcome to Marmalade, how many?" A red headed woman asked as she walked up to them.

"Only two." Regina told the young woman. They were lead to a booth near the windows. Regina and Melanie sat down.

"Your server will be right with you." She smiled and then left after she gave them two menus.

"I don't think I've ever been here before. It's nice inside." Melanie stated.

"This was the first restaurant I've been to when I first moved here. It's my favorite place, actually." Regina said looking at her menu.

"By which way, how long has it been since you've moved here?"

"Wow, to think about it, it's been almost a year." Regina said. "I can't believe how fast time has flown by."

"And all this time, you haven't found anyone? Did you tell me that you went through a bad break up?" Melanie asked.

"Yeah. I definitely don't want to go through that again." She said shaking her head. Just then, their waiter came to their table.

"Hello, my name is Tiffany, I will be your waitress for tonight. What drinks would you like to start off with?" Tiffany said with a smile.

"I'd like a Long Island." Regina told her. Melanie ordered the same.

" Are you ready to order the food?" Tiffany asked. Both women nodded their heads.

"I'd like the Foie Gras." Regina put in her order and handed the waitress her menu.

"I would like to have the Paella." Melanie said as she, too, had handed in her menu. Tiffany thanked them and went to put in the orders.

"So as you were saying..." Melanie resumed.

" Not much to tell. She broke my heart, cheated on me twice and then went to live with the first girl she cheated on me with. It's kind of self explanatory." Regina said with a laugh even though it did hurt her to even think about it.

"Though I've only known you for almost a year, I can tell when it hurts you, so we can drop it." Melanie said squeezing Regina's hand.

"It's okay."

"But I'm not going to let go the fact that we need to hook you up!" Melanie switched her whole demeanor. Regina shook her head, laughing.

"Hell no. I think I'm doing just fine."

"Mhm. We'll see about that." Melanie smirked.

"Everyone runs away from me at one point or another, Melanie. I blame my mother." Regina laughed.

"Regina, you are very stunning, smart, and one hell of a lawyer. Don't doubt yourself. You'll find someone." Melanie reassured her.

"I'll believe it when it happens. But let's talk about you." Regina said as their food arrived. "When are you and Chad going to take that next step? You guys are perfect for each other. By the way, I better be invited to the wedding."

"Hey, no one said there was going to be a wedding." Melanie laughed. "But since you asked, we are talking about it. Hopefully he proposes before I die. I do want to be married during this lifetime. And what the hell, Regina, of course you'll be in the wedding...as my bridesmaid." Melanie smiled. Regina returned it. She was surprised and flattered. She didn't think her friend would have her in her wedding party.

"Thank you, Melanie. It really means a lot."

"Of course. You're one of my closest friends." Melanie said picking up her drink. "Let's make a mini toast." She said. Regina picked up her drink.

"Let's make this to finding love this year and that you get your happy ending." Melanie finished out the toast.

"Cheers to that." Regina and Melanie clicked their drinks and took a sip.

* * *

**Emma's Apartment**

Emma Swan walked into her apartment, and found her son, Henry, in the living room playing on his X-Box.

"Hey, kid. Sorry that I'm late. I'm making it up though. I brought your favorite." Emma smiled. Henry paused his game.

"Pizza?" He asked excitedly, like any 10 year old would.

"Oh yeah. If you want to help by turning on the oven, I'll put up the rest of this food." Emma said. Henry got up, and started to pre-heat the oven.

"Mom, I have a field trip next week and I have to get your signature for my permission slip." He said.

"Okay, get it out." Emma said putting up the last of her groceries. She took out a pen and signed it. "Where are you guys going?" She asked.

"To Orlando. It will be for three days and two nights."

"That'll be fun. Let me know how much money you will need, okay?" She asked. He nodded.

"Okay, let's put this pizza in. There." Emma said. She turned on the timer and looked towards the game that was on the big flat screen. "Which game are you playing?" She asked.

"Modern Warfare."

"Mind if your old mom plays with you?" Emma joked. Henry smiled.

"If you can keep up." He laughed.

"Already talking trash. Okay." She smiled and took a seat on the couch and grabbed another game controller.

"Get ready, because I'm about to get a record breaking amount of kills." She gave him a look. Henry rolled his eyes and put the game on 2 player mode.

* * *

**Next morning**

**Emma's Apartment**

"Henry! Hurry up. You're only going to have time for cereal." Emma called out to her son. Henry rushed downstairs and grabbed Captain Crunch, pouring it into his bowl before grabbing the milk.

"Quickly eat because we have less than 10 minutes to get out of here." She said as she grabbed her badge, gun and jacket.

"I wish I could go to work with you. It's so cool that you catch the bad guys." Henry said.

"It's not all fun and games, kid. Maybe one day, I'll let you go to work with me when I'm on desk duty. I don't want anything to happen to my favorite son." She said, placing a finger under his chin.

" Your only son, mind you." He said smiling.

"And a smart one too, I'm finding out." She smirked. "Okay, are you ready?"

"Yes." Henry said putting his dish in the sink and grabbing his book bag. They both walked out the apartment.

After Emma watched Henry get on the school bus, she drove straight to work.

"Morning, Swan." Her partner, Killian Jones, said as he gave her a cup of coffee with his right hand. His left hand was amputated, and he never told Emma the real reason. She smiled and placed her jacket on the back of her chair.

"Thanks, Killian." She said. "What do we have planned today?"

"No problem. You have patrolling duty. Stern and I have a patch for DV." He was leaning on her desk.

"Okay, I guess I might as well get going." Emma grabbed the keys to the patrol car.

* * *

Regina had just left her house in a rush, as she was running late to work. Turning on her car, she drove out her driveway. She had an important meeting to get to. The speed limit for the highway was 60mph but once she got on there, she was easily going almost 80. She could not be late.

Regina was about 10 minutes away from her job when she saw blue lights flash in her rearview mirror.

"Fuck." Regina mumbled as she pulled over on the side. She began to get her license and registration out. She saw the officer get out of their car. Rolling down her window, the officer approached her.

"Good morning. May I see your license and registration please?" The blonde woman asked. Regina noticed she was very beautiful. She handed over her things. "Do you know why I pulled you over?" The woman asked.

"I know I was speeding. I'm sorry Officer..." Regina paused not knowing the officer's last name.

"Swan." The younger woman told her.

"Officer Swan, I'm sorry. I know I went over the limit, but I am late for work. I'm just 10 minutes away." Regina explained. Emma looked at the documents in her hand. She walked away and came back within two minutes.

"Okay look, I'm going to give you a warning just because you look like this will not help your day. I don't do this often or even ever. So consider this as a blessing."

"Thank you so much." Regina put her hands together in relief. Emma gave her license and registration back.

"You have a good day, ma'am. Go the speed limit this time and I hope to not see you anymore under this kind of circumstance." She told Regina.

"You too, thank you." Regina said. Emma walked away and went back to her car. Regina turned her car back on and got back on the highway and, this time, went the speed limit.


	2. Follow My Lead

**Chapter 2: Follow My Lead**

**Friday night**

**8pm**

**Emma's Apartment**

Sitting on her couch, Emma was talking to her friend, Maria Benitez, who also sat on the love sofa across from her. With Henry spending the night at his friend's house, Emma called her friend for some much needed girl time. Maria, of course, got right in her car and drove over to her best friend's house.

"Emma, why don't we go to that new Spanish club tonight?" Maria asked. We need to drink and flirt with strangers." Maria said with a serious face. Emma face palmed herself and shook her head.

"You're not a great influence, you know that?" Emma said. Maria laughed.

"I wouldn't be a great friend if I wasn't. Now let's get you in a sexy dress." Maria said with her hand picking Emma up from the couch. Emma sighed.

"I have nothing in my closet." Emma said.

"I will be the judge of that. Either way, I came prepared. I brought some extra dresses in case you had nothing, as you claim." Maria still headed towards Emma's room. Before Emma could get to the entrance of her bedroom, Maria was already at her closet searching through some of her clothes. She found a black dress, and held it up. Maria shook her head as she put it back in the closet. After holding up a few more dresses, Maria stood with her right hand on her hip.

"We need to go shopping, but in the mean time, I have my bag. Well get you in something." Maria said in serious thought. Emma laughed.

"You are the only person I know to come prepared for everything."

"Life is an adventure. Either be prepared, or be caught with your pants down." Maria laughed. She walked towards her bag and pulled out four dresses. One of the dresses was black, another was red, and the other two were dark blue. Emma's eyes immediately went to the red dress. It was strapless, and obviously body hugging. Emma laughed at her thoughts. Her friend basically was born in body hugging dresses. Emma picked up the dress, and went to go to her bathroom to change. When she came out, Maria whistled.

" Aye dios mio, mamasita. You look hot!" Maria's jaw dropped. Emma turned the color of her dress, on her cheeks. She wasn't used to being the center of attention, but she couldn't complain with her wearing a fire engine red on her body.

"It's not too much?" Emma asked.

"Shut up, Em. You look amazing in my dress. Even better than I do." Maria assured her friend. "Now, I saw some black heels in your closet that looks basically new because, I am guessing, you never wear them. They will look great with this dress." Emma nodded and went up down the hall to put on her heels. Coming back down, she found Maria already changed into her dress. The woman had so many curves, everything she wore looked amazing on her.

"I had called a cab while you were changing and they are already outside." Maria said. Emma grabbed her purse, as did Maria and they walked out of the apartment into the warm night.

* * *

Arriving at the place called 'Club Boca', Emma and Maria stepped out of the car and were surprised to see a long entrance to get into the place. Once in, Maria grabbed Emma's hand and they both walked to the bar. With Latin music blaring loudly, Maria ordered for them both. Emma looked around. She definitely didn't want to make a fool out of herself trying to dance. She was brought out of her thoughts when Maria handed her a drink.

"What is this?" Emma asked loudly.

" Bahama Mama. You'll like it. It's fruity. Now let's go find a seat." Maria said and Emma followed her friend to a table near the dance floor. Emma sat down and began to sip on her drink. Immediately, as if eyes zoomed on their table, two guys walked up to the two women. They asked them to dance, as a new song came on. Maria gave Emma a look and walked away with the hot guy. Emma politely declined the guy who came up to her. She had to watch Maria's drink. She looked at Maria having fun dancing to reggaeton. Emma looked around some more and her eyes laid on a gorgeous raven haired woman. The woman was turned to where Emma only saw the side of her figure, but the woman had on a black, figure hugging dress. She was sitting alone sipping on a drink of her own. Suddenly, the woman looked over and found Emma looking at her. Right then, Emma basically spit out her drink as she recognized the woman. Emma turned red as she took a napkin to clean up her mess. She felt a hand on her shoulder and a hand reach out for the napkin. Emma looked up at the woman she almost arrested.

"I feel responsible. I'm sorry!" Regina, Emma remembered from her ID, apologized. Emma smiled and waved it off, taking back her napkin. Their hands briefly touched for that quick second.

"It's okay. I feel so embarrassed now." Emma said loudly.

"Thank you again for the other day." Regina said with a quick smile. Emma smiled and looked down for a moment. "Are you here alone?" Regina asked sitting down next to Emma. Emma shook her head.

"No. You see that girl in the dark blue dress? That's my friend." Emma said pointing over to Maria. Regina laughed.

"She's really good." Regina said and then focused her eyes back on the blonde beside her. She was astounded at how beautiful Emma was...when she wasn't about to arrest her. With Emma's hair down, she saw her softer side.

"What is your name, by the way?" Regina asked, only knowing her last name.

"Emma." She smiled.

"Nice to meet you under these circumstances." Regina replied, remembering their last conversation.

"Are you by yourself?" Emma asked back.

"No my friend, like yours, is dancing too." Regina replied. There was a moment of silence and then another song 'Lovumba' came on. Regina's face lit up. Emma noticed. She also saw Maria coming back from her dance. Maria gave Emma a look that she immediately ignored. "I love this song!"

"I'm back now, Emma." Maria said with a smirk.

"Do you want to dance?" Regina asked Emma with her hand extended.

"Uh, sure, but I have to tell you, I don't know how to dance much." Emma said nervously. Regina brushed it off.

"I can teach you. Just follow my lead." Regina said leading Emma onto the dance floor. They pushed their way to the middle of the floor and Regina twirled Emma around once and stepped in closer to the blonde to where they were mere inches apart. Regina grabbed right hand with her left, and placed her right hand on Emma's hips, and they began to sway to the song. Regina was really good, as she dipped their bodies to the beat, the song leading them around their little space. Emma was surprised how her body responded to each move. She barely had to do any work, as Regina lead them through each movement. Emma smiled and concentrated on, at the very least, not tripping or stepping on Regina's toes.

Regina surprised her again with another twirl, but this time, she turned the blonde around to where she was dancing with her back towards Regina. They were literally dancing against each other. Regina placed her left hand on Emma's hip, and her other hand held steady on Emma's right hand. Emma felt like her body was on fire with Regina's hand on her hip. She couldn't help but smile. She didn't know what it was about Regina, but she was left wanting to know more. Just as the music had started, it quickly ended. Emma felt instantly sad. Little did she know, Regina felt the same way. The raven haired woman didn't show it though. Smiling instead, Regina lead them back to the table.

"You are a natural. Thank you." Emma thanked the Latina. Regina smiled.

"I had a great dance partner. The pleasure is mine." Regina's eyes lingered on Emma's green ones. Maria noticed their looks.

"You guys looked good out there! You got this girl to dance, congrats! You are definitely the first." Maria joked. Regina returned the laugh. Emma had rolled her eyes and grabbed what was left of her drink and finished it. Regina left for a moment and came back with a pen and small napkin.

"I know this may be weird, but I like you, and you can either keep this or scrap it. Either way, I hope to hear from you in the coming week. Unfortunately I have to go now, the reason why I'm giving you this." Regina said writing on the napkin and handing it to Emma. Regina gave Emma a kiss on her cheek quickly and leaned in for a hug. Emma hugged her back and whispered, "I'll use it." She smiled, and Regina gave a big grin. She waved bye to Emma and Maria as she grabbed her friend and they had left the club. Emma looked into her hand where Regina had left her name and number on the napkin. She felt a little giddy. The woman really had an magical hold on her, even if it was just for one dance. Maria screamed, and that momentarily brought her out of her deep thoughts. She looked at her friend with a 'What the hell' face, and Maria jumped up and down.

"Emma got a number!" She singsonged. Emma laughed.

"Shut up. You were over there making it obvious!"

"No honey, you made it clear yourself. One more dance, you both might as well have been in the back of the club making out!" Maria quipped. She grabbed her purse, taking out her phone. She went away for a moment to the women's restroom to call the cab and came back. She made a motion for both of them to leave the club.

"Well did you get what you wanted to come here for?" Emma asked referring to the making out part. She dismissed the last part of her friend's comment.

"While you, and your future was dancing, yes I munched on some cutie's face." She said with a serious face, but she couldn't keep up the facade. She bursted out laughing, as did Emma. They got outside, and their ears felt muffled.

"I can't deal with you tonight. You are too much." Emma said.

"I love you too." Maria said, linking arms with her friend as they waited for their ride.

**A/N: So what do you guys think? I loved writing this scene. It was so much fun. I was listening to the song 'Lovumba' by Don Omar during Emma and Regina's dance and 'Danza Kuduro' by Daddy Yankee for Maria's dance. I definitely brought out some of my experiences when it came to Regina and Emma's dance. haha Let me know what you think! **


	3. Butterflies

**Chapter 3: Butterflies**

**Sunday Evening**

Regina walked out of her house with her dog, Lola; she was taking her for a walk around the neighborhood. Just moments before, Regina checked her phone and she saw that she had a missed phone call. Since it was a unknown number, she decided to listen to her voicemail. Regina was pleasantly surprised to hear the voice she was waiting for.

_Hi, Regina. This is Emma from Friday night. I see you are probably busy, so I guess I will call later...or not if you changed your mind. What am I saying? Okay, sorry. I had a good time, so if you want we can have lunch soon. Okay, talk to you later, bye._

Regina smiled. She found it adorable how nervous Emma sounded on the phone. Far cry from the demanding authority she commanded while on duty as a police officer. Regina couldn't blame her anyways because she had butterflies in her stomach like a school girl with the prospect of even seeing someone again.

With just a tap of her finger, Regina called back. Silently, she hoped Emma would answer. Her face lit up when the other woman picked up the phone.

* * *

Emma and Henry where walking around the park that was about 20 minutes from her place. It was a beautiful afternoon, and the tree limbs danced quietly in the air. Henry brought his mini remote-controlled helicopter to fly around outside. His grandparents, Mary-Margaret and David, gave him the gift last Christmas.

"Hey, kid. Fly it over there so it won't hit any trees." Emma said pointing to a clear space. Henry smiled and started up his helicopter.

Emma found a bench to sit on, and heard her phone go off. She saw Regina's name come up. She smiled and answered it.

"Hi, Regina." Emma greeted the woman.

"Hello, Emma. I just heard your message. I am very sorry about missing your call." Regina apologized.

"Don't worry about it! I'm glad you even called back." Emma replied.

"Of course. Speaking of, I would love to take you out for lunch. My treat." Regina said. All of a sudden, Lola, started to bark. Emma heard and started to chuckle.

"You have a dog?" Emma asked.

"Yes, sorry about that. Lola heard the word treat and thought I was meaning a treat for her." Regina laughed.

"That's sweet. I love dogs." Emma said. "To answer your request, though, I'd love to have lunch."

"That sounds great. What about tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow is perfect. Where do you want to meet?" Emma asked.

"How do you feel about a coffee date at Starbucks and then we can do something else afterwards? By the way, I can pick you up, so no worries." Regina offered.

"I look forward to it." Emma said. Regina didn't know this, but Emma was smiling from ear to ear.

"Okay, I'll talk to you later?"

"Talk to you later. Bye." Emma said and then hung up. Her eyes lingered on the darkened screen of her phone for a little while longer before her thoughts where interrupted by her son who came over and sat beside his mom.

"Who was that?" Henry asked.

"That...I...was talking to a friend. By the way, tomorrow, I am going to have granny and grandpop pick you up tomorrow from school. I will be home in time to make you dinner, okay?" She said as she kissed him on his head. He smiled and nodded his head. "Are you ready to go home?" She asked.

"Yeah." He said. Emma wiped a piece of hair from his face.

"Okay let's go, kid." Emma got up and they both made their way to her car.

* * *

**Emma's Apartment**

"Mom, can you pick up Henry from school tomorrow?" Emma asked when she called her parents.

"Sure, Emma. What's going on tomorrow?" Mary-Margaret asked her daughter.

"Do you promise not to make it a big deal?" Emma didn't know how her mom would respond.

"I can't promise that, dear." She laughed.

"Well I met someone and I am going on a date tomorrow. I won't be able to pick up Henry when he gets out of school but I'll be home before dinner." Emma explained. The phone went silent for a moment and Emma didn't know if her mother was still on the other side. "Mom?"

"I'm still here. You told me to not make a big deal out of it, so I'm not." Mary-Margaret said. Emma shook her head. She knew it wouldn't last long.

"Ending call now. Thank you for going to pick Henry up tomorrow. I love you."

"I love you too, honey. See you tomorrow." She hung up. Emma laughed. Her mother would grill her tomorrow, she was sure of it.

**A/N: I know this chapter is not long, but I wanted to put something out before it is too long in between chapters! I hope you like! Next chapter will be longer, I promise! Let me know if you are still interested in this story :) **


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